Ronald G. Russo

Ronald G. Russo has been Of Counsel to the Firm since February 2008.

Mr. Russo earned his undergraduate degree from St. Bonaventure University in 1968 and his J.D. from St. John's University School of Law in 1973, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the St. John's Law Review as well as of The Catholic Lawyer. Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Russo clerked for Senior Associate Judge Adrian P. Burke of the New York State Court of Appeals. He entered private practice as an associate attorney at the law firm of Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, where he concentrated on civil litigation. Mr. Russo left private practice to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, ultimately becoming appointed Chief of the Official Corruption/Special Prosecution Section, where he had extensive experience investigating and prosecuting complex financial crimes and supervised federal prosecutors who investigated and prosecuted many high profile cases.

Mr. Russo then accepted the position of First Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation, where he was responsible both for the day-to-day operations of that agency, which included dozens of attorneys, police officers and investigators, and also the operation of the city-wide Inspectors General program, where he interfaced with every agency in New York City as well as the District Attorneys' Offices in all five boroughs.

Mr. Russo left government service in 1982, and resumed private practice as a criminal defense lawyer, representing individuals and business entities who are the subject of investigations and/or prosecutions by a variety of governmental authorities, including the United States Attorney's Offices, the New York State Attorney General's Office as well as the Offices of the many other prosecutors in New York State and City. Mr. Russo also has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School where he has taught trial advocacy. He is a member of the New York State Bar, as well as the Bars of a number of federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Russo has been a member of the New York City Bar Association (formerly, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York) since his admission to practice in 1974 and has served on numerous standing and ad hoc committees, most recently being appointed to a three-year term on the Criminal Law Committee. Mr. Russo is also a founding Member of the Board of Directors of the New York Council of Criminal Defense Lawyers as well as a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, of the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association of the National Trial Lawyers, and of the New York State Bar Association. Mr. Russo served as a member of the Mayor's Committee on the Judiciary from 1988 to 1994, where he examined the qualifications of members of the Bench for those courts for which the Mayor has appointive authority. Mr. Russo has appeared regularly as a commentator on criminal trials on Court TV.